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インフィニット・デンドログラム [Infinite Dendrogram] Light Novel #4
Infinite Dendrogram: Volume 4
The city of duels is suddenly besieged by one of the Dryfe Imperium’s Superiors. Mr. Franklin, the Giga Professor. Both admirably cunning and incorrigibly heinous, the sadistic scientist sets his sights on throwing Gideon into utter Pandemonium. As luck would have it, Ray, Marie, and Rook are caught right in the middle of his malicious machinations. Though outmatched, outnumbered and outsmarted, the knights and Masters of The Kingdom of Altar don't hesitate to retaliate. They have the spirit, no doubt, but will it be enough to defeat the mastermind of Franklin's Game?
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2017
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65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 15, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed the 4th instalment of the Infinite Dendrogram light novel series.
We are following Ray, Nemesis and the group in the events concluding the Clash of the Superiors in the Duel City, seeing all the battles and communications between separate versing individuals. Super fun and enjoyable to read and uncover what was happening.
I both enjoyed and was interested by the many different people’s points of view, and was intrigued by what we learned from these perspectives.
I can’t stress enough how much this series has improved both the reading experience in this world and the anime to me, as you get to meet in depth more characters, get to see and hear and decider for yourself more than I got in the anime, which has improved the series in it’s entirety for me.
To match the previous novels, another 5 stars.
We are following Ray, Nemesis and the group in the events concluding the Clash of the Superiors in the Duel City, seeing all the battles and communications between separate versing individuals. Super fun and enjoyable to read and uncover what was happening.
I both enjoyed and was interested by the many different people’s points of view, and was intrigued by what we learned from these perspectives.
I can’t stress enough how much this series has improved both the reading experience in this world and the anime to me, as you get to meet in depth more characters, get to see and hear and decider for yourself more than I got in the anime, which has improved the series in it’s entirety for me.
To match the previous novels, another 5 stars.
June 30, 2021
En commençant ce quatrième volume je savais que j’allais retrouver un tome puissant et prenant qui allait faire basculer la suite de l’aventure. On sent depuis le tome précédent que quelque chose de gros, de difficile et surtout de long est en train de se mettre en place, et c’est justement au cours de ce tome que tout explose.
Comme toujours avec Infinite Dendrogram le tome reprend la suite direct de son prédécesseur, ainsi on se retrouve plongé dans la suite du duel laissé en suspens. C’est d’ailleurs un peu le fil rouge de ce tome puisque l’on va régulièrement revenir vers ce combat pour en découvrir l’évolution.
Ce qui me surprend le plus au cours de ma lecture c’est à quel point le scénario réussit à se développer au fil des tomes sans jamais y perdre en cohérence ou en logique. Chaque chose est bien amenée, bien expliquée et tout finit par prendre un sens. Les règles annoncées dès le début de l'œuvre continuent à être suivies et respectées, ici pas de Deus-ex-machina pour venir sortir un personnage d’une situation complexe. Et le plus impressionnant dans tout cela c’est que l’on comprend parfaitement et avec facilité pourquoi les règles ont été créées ainsi et le sens qui leurs est donné.
Tout en mettant en place l’intrigue à venir, bien sûr en continuant sans cesse à venir l’étoffer et la développer, ce tome est aussi celui qui permet au lecteur de trouver des réponses aux questions qu’ils pouvaient se poser concernant le cœur même de l’histoire. Le raisonnement que cela amène est bien pensé, ce qui fait que l’on ne peut que saluer l’intelligence avec
laquelle l’auteur a pensé son histoire.
Encore une fois, on retrouve différents points de vue de divers personnages dans ce tome. Si cela ne peut apparaître que comme un détail, c'est en fait ce qui permet de venir réellement comprendre les personnages, leurs motivations mais aussi les envies qui les animent. Cela apporte de la texture à l'œuvre et permet au lecteur de se plonger encore plus profondément dans l’histoire.
Ce tome vient clairement se démarquer des autres grâce à sa façon si particulière de venir relier le virtuel avec la vie réelle. Ces passages viennent à la fois nous rappeler que derrière les personnages en jeu se cachent de véritables êtres humains avec une vie, un passé et une histoire qui n’est pas toujours facile. Découvrir la vie des protagonistes en dehors du jeu permet de donner de la matière à l’histoire, mais aussi d’aider le lecteur à s’attacher aux personnages. Mais ce n’est pas seulement là pour raconter une histoire, ça ajoute surtout une cohérence et un lien entre la version en jeu et IRL ( dans la vraie vie ) du personnage, on rattache ainsi l’humain à l’avatar. On cerne mieux les motivations qui animent chacun et on comprend pourquoi ils mettent tant de cœur dans ce VRMMO.
De nouveaux antagonistes font leur apparition dans ce tome, et je dois qu’ils piquent d'emblée ma curiosité à chaque fois, il y a un petit quelque chose qui les rend vraiment intéressants, et puis encore une fois il sont systématiquement bien amenés au sein de l’histoire. Les différentes capacités qu'ils ont ainsi que leur façon de les utiliser sont étonnantes et intelligentes. Il y a une logique physique réelle derrière les conséquences des techniques, et là encore cela vient relier notre monde à celui du jeu.
La plus grosse surprise restera pour moi la découverte des pouvoirs phénoménaux d’un des personnages accompagnant le héros, et qui s'était fait plutôt discret jusqu'à présent. Découvrir ce que cachait se personnage est à la fois une énorme révélation qui va sûrement peser sur la suite de l’histoire mais aussi une surprise pour le lecteur qui ne l’avait clairement pas du tout vu venir.
Ce tome est clairement celui qui fait basculer l’intrigue, un nouvel arc se lance et une nouvelle aventure attend nos héros. J’ai réellement hâte d’avoir la suite entre les mains pour comprendre comment les choses vont évoluer, surtout en voyant la fin de ce quatrième volume.
Comme toujours avec Infinite Dendrogram le tome reprend la suite direct de son prédécesseur, ainsi on se retrouve plongé dans la suite du duel laissé en suspens. C’est d’ailleurs un peu le fil rouge de ce tome puisque l’on va régulièrement revenir vers ce combat pour en découvrir l’évolution.
Ce qui me surprend le plus au cours de ma lecture c’est à quel point le scénario réussit à se développer au fil des tomes sans jamais y perdre en cohérence ou en logique. Chaque chose est bien amenée, bien expliquée et tout finit par prendre un sens. Les règles annoncées dès le début de l'œuvre continuent à être suivies et respectées, ici pas de Deus-ex-machina pour venir sortir un personnage d’une situation complexe. Et le plus impressionnant dans tout cela c’est que l’on comprend parfaitement et avec facilité pourquoi les règles ont été créées ainsi et le sens qui leurs est donné.
Tout en mettant en place l’intrigue à venir, bien sûr en continuant sans cesse à venir l’étoffer et la développer, ce tome est aussi celui qui permet au lecteur de trouver des réponses aux questions qu’ils pouvaient se poser concernant le cœur même de l’histoire. Le raisonnement que cela amène est bien pensé, ce qui fait que l’on ne peut que saluer l’intelligence avec
laquelle l’auteur a pensé son histoire.
Encore une fois, on retrouve différents points de vue de divers personnages dans ce tome. Si cela ne peut apparaître que comme un détail, c'est en fait ce qui permet de venir réellement comprendre les personnages, leurs motivations mais aussi les envies qui les animent. Cela apporte de la texture à l'œuvre et permet au lecteur de se plonger encore plus profondément dans l’histoire.
Ce tome vient clairement se démarquer des autres grâce à sa façon si particulière de venir relier le virtuel avec la vie réelle. Ces passages viennent à la fois nous rappeler que derrière les personnages en jeu se cachent de véritables êtres humains avec une vie, un passé et une histoire qui n’est pas toujours facile. Découvrir la vie des protagonistes en dehors du jeu permet de donner de la matière à l’histoire, mais aussi d’aider le lecteur à s’attacher aux personnages. Mais ce n’est pas seulement là pour raconter une histoire, ça ajoute surtout une cohérence et un lien entre la version en jeu et IRL ( dans la vraie vie ) du personnage, on rattache ainsi l’humain à l’avatar. On cerne mieux les motivations qui animent chacun et on comprend pourquoi ils mettent tant de cœur dans ce VRMMO.
De nouveaux antagonistes font leur apparition dans ce tome, et je dois qu’ils piquent d'emblée ma curiosité à chaque fois, il y a un petit quelque chose qui les rend vraiment intéressants, et puis encore une fois il sont systématiquement bien amenés au sein de l’histoire. Les différentes capacités qu'ils ont ainsi que leur façon de les utiliser sont étonnantes et intelligentes. Il y a une logique physique réelle derrière les conséquences des techniques, et là encore cela vient relier notre monde à celui du jeu.
La plus grosse surprise restera pour moi la découverte des pouvoirs phénoménaux d’un des personnages accompagnant le héros, et qui s'était fait plutôt discret jusqu'à présent. Découvrir ce que cachait se personnage est à la fois une énorme révélation qui va sûrement peser sur la suite de l’histoire mais aussi une surprise pour le lecteur qui ne l’avait clairement pas du tout vu venir.
Ce tome est clairement celui qui fait basculer l’intrigue, un nouvel arc se lance et une nouvelle aventure attend nos héros. J’ai réellement hâte d’avoir la suite entre les mains pour comprendre comment les choses vont évoluer, surtout en voyant la fin de ce quatrième volume.
December 10, 2019
I don’t know why I waited this long to read this after the cliffhanger of the previous volume, but I believe that I actually made the right call to ready my mindset first.
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The book immediately picks up where the previous one ends after Franklin’s declaration, with the extra restrictions and games that he will play on all the other masters in Infinite Dendrogram who are in the same vicinity as he is. Despite how fun this was to see, I was actually more impressed with the level of control this game allows masters to have in it. I’ve said it time and time again, but Sakon Kaidou-sensei doesn’t cease to impress me on that front, moreover, when it’s grey characters like Franklin it’s even better. Even though he seemingly is just a straight up villain, I can’t help but feel that he’s also not, the politics in Infinite Dendrogram has been dictating some master actions for a while now and I didn’t think that Franklin was all that different.
The characters in this series are pretty fun, and despite the growing cast members, they’re so far distinct enough for me to continue remembering them despite the months apart I read this series. Of course not all of them will make a bigger impression, but if the recurring ones continue to do so then that’s just beyond awesome. Having each of them do something was cool as well, I really enjoyed seeing how each one of them played in this war and how their actions continued to affect it till the end. I was really looking forward to “some” characters to join as quickly as possible to confirm my suspicions about them though.
Obviously in series like these the protagonist will most likely be super rigged in some way and this volume continues showing Ray in that way to me, he does struggle a lot, I won’t say that he doesn’t. However, more often than not, Ray has these abilities that make him way stronger than implied and although I did enjoy his earlier encounters, it has started to get on my nerves a little more than expected in this series. Of course, our talented author doesn’t make make Ray alone the star of the show, there ARE many masters here with superior jobs so they get to be incredibly badass too, however, that annoying voice in the back of my head that says “he’s powerful because he’s the MC” refuses to shut up and therefore makes me roll my eyes a bit more than I would have hoped. Again, it’s not too much yet, emphasis on the yet so I’ll savor it.
One of the pluses in this series is its lack of romance, honestly, Fantasy is amazing when utilized correctly. This series has enough material or more accurately enough happening that it doesn’t need to lean on romance to get the attention it deserves. Nor does it have sexual fan service to bait the readers either, which is immensely appreciated by yours truly. In this medium, I have learned that the advise of not judging a book by its cover doesn’t actually work too much here. I have yet to see an anime that has scantly clad individuals on the cover actually end up being worth anyone’s time, people have preference of course, so consider this my incredibly biased and judgmental opinion.
The book like its prequel does end in a cliffhanger as well, thankfully I have not read this while it was being released so I could easily jump into volume 5 which I obviously did :)
Final rating: 4/5
January 1, 2023
Dr. Franklin (Dr. FLamingo) the guy dressed as a Penguin, has become delusional and the author has forgotten that everybody is in a "video game". All everybody needs to do is log out. End the lunacy of an Master (player) that has gone crazy. Maybe call customer service and have his account banned, his real life fined and problem is over.
With such weak story plots, that mean nothing in the game, nobody, none of the main characters gain levels, improve in their abilities, or move the purpose of the game forward.
This story has lost it's purpose and meaning compass...it no longer matters to the author, where the story is going, so if the author doesn't care, why should we?
The illustrations still suck. They finally made basic character summaries, even though main character Ray is still under-powered and incapable. Rook whose a "pimp" has better familiars, higher luck and better equipment and has not fought anybody relevant or important...So, why is the author have a strong prejudice against the main character of this video game story? Ray is always short of money, gives Hugo 40 million and Hugo is an enemy stationed to end the kingdom. Ray at the same time sponsors continually an assassin that has killed him. Is Ray the biggest idiot in the game? Why does the author have no respect for the main character, and have the other characters walk all over him, manipulate him, empty his wealth and even assassinate him???
I do not recommend this Book 4. I do not recommend this light novel series.
With such weak story plots, that mean nothing in the game, nobody, none of the main characters gain levels, improve in their abilities, or move the purpose of the game forward.
This story has lost it's purpose and meaning compass...it no longer matters to the author, where the story is going, so if the author doesn't care, why should we?
The illustrations still suck. They finally made basic character summaries, even though main character Ray is still under-powered and incapable. Rook whose a "pimp" has better familiars, higher luck and better equipment and has not fought anybody relevant or important...So, why is the author have a strong prejudice against the main character of this video game story? Ray is always short of money, gives Hugo 40 million and Hugo is an enemy stationed to end the kingdom. Ray at the same time sponsors continually an assassin that has killed him. Is Ray the biggest idiot in the game? Why does the author have no respect for the main character, and have the other characters walk all over him, manipulate him, empty his wealth and even assassinate him???
I do not recommend this Book 4. I do not recommend this light novel series.
July 4, 2021
https://lapommequirougit.com/2021/07/...
Dans ce light novel, il ne cesse de toujours se passe pleins de choses qui me captivent et retournent la tête à chaque fois !
Franklin est apparu et il a semé le chaos. Alors qu’énormément de personnes sont retenues dans le Colisée, les Masters font de leur mieux pour protéger le pays. C’est ainsi que nous allons suivre les affrontements un à un de Ray, Marie et Rook !
L’histoire est toujours aussi prenante, c’est clairement le point fort d’Infinite dendrogram. On est à chaque fois captivé par le récit et on n’arrive pas à lâcher le light novel jusqu’à l’avoir fini !
Ce que j’aime ici, c’est que nous avons plusieurs points de vue, ce qui nous permet d’en apprendre un peu plus sur chacun d’entre eux. Même sur Franklin et sur ses motivations ! Certains chapitres vont même s’attarder sur la vie IRL de Rook et d’Hugo.
Le cinquième tome ferme l’arc Franklin, et autant vous dire, il y a un rebondissement de folie, que j’avais pour ma part vue venir, mais qui reste quand même très plaisant à lire ! 😉
En bref, j’aime toujours autant ce light novel. L’histoire est prenante, le style d’écriture est addictif et on veut toujours en savoir plus sur l’univers et les personnages qui entourent ce VRMMO.
Dans ce light novel, il ne cesse de toujours se passe pleins de choses qui me captivent et retournent la tête à chaque fois !
Franklin est apparu et il a semé le chaos. Alors qu’énormément de personnes sont retenues dans le Colisée, les Masters font de leur mieux pour protéger le pays. C’est ainsi que nous allons suivre les affrontements un à un de Ray, Marie et Rook !
L’histoire est toujours aussi prenante, c’est clairement le point fort d’Infinite dendrogram. On est à chaque fois captivé par le récit et on n’arrive pas à lâcher le light novel jusqu’à l’avoir fini !
Ce que j’aime ici, c’est que nous avons plusieurs points de vue, ce qui nous permet d’en apprendre un peu plus sur chacun d’entre eux. Même sur Franklin et sur ses motivations ! Certains chapitres vont même s’attarder sur la vie IRL de Rook et d’Hugo.
Le cinquième tome ferme l’arc Franklin, et autant vous dire, il y a un rebondissement de folie, que j’avais pour ma part vue venir, mais qui reste quand même très plaisant à lire ! 😉
En bref, j’aime toujours autant ce light novel. L’histoire est prenante, le style d’écriture est addictif et on veut toujours en savoir plus sur l’univers et les personnages qui entourent ce VRMMO.
June 16, 2020
To paraphrase football coach Dennis Green, it is what I thought it is...
The author has a very hard time changing perspectives, so there are some very clunky sections particularly the dialog when we switch from one character’s narration to the other. Since there seems to be no rules on the variety and strength of powers available in this virtual reality MMO, the plot is completely propelled by one overpowered feat after another. We regularly are introduced to some small spell or ability only to find it later exploited to some amazing level. Or, some new contrivance springs out of whole cloth. Then there’s the whole incongruity of character behaviors. They are all one thing, until some plot requires them to be something entirely different. Why Hugo would be so committed to someone like Franklin is inconceivable, for instance. It all makes for a very disappointing series that began, I felt, with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, I’m in it for a few more volumes due to my impulsive pandemic purchases.
To salt the wound, I watched the first episode of the recent anime adaptation... *groan*
The author has a very hard time changing perspectives, so there are some very clunky sections particularly the dialog when we switch from one character’s narration to the other. Since there seems to be no rules on the variety and strength of powers available in this virtual reality MMO, the plot is completely propelled by one overpowered feat after another. We regularly are introduced to some small spell or ability only to find it later exploited to some amazing level. Or, some new contrivance springs out of whole cloth. Then there’s the whole incongruity of character behaviors. They are all one thing, until some plot requires them to be something entirely different. Why Hugo would be so committed to someone like Franklin is inconceivable, for instance. It all makes for a very disappointing series that began, I felt, with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, I’m in it for a few more volumes due to my impulsive pandemic purchases.
To salt the wound, I watched the first episode of the recent anime adaptation... *groan*
March 30, 2018
So this volume starts the Professor Franklin arc, and it does a pretty good job of keeping a reader like me interested. There's some character revelations in here, which I always enjoy. There's new characters introduced as well. Ray doesn't get any new powers iirc, but he does get a chance to show off his tactics.
Luckily, Ray and his buddies don't have super AGI builds yet, so my fears of this turning into a Dragon Ball drawn out fight novel is delayed for now. There was some minutiae to some of the battles by characters that aren't Ray though that I pretty much just read on a surface level, but if you're into power levels and such you can dig a bit deeper into what exactly is happening beyond just "he used a super powerful skill and it was countered by a super powerful dodge".
This ends on a "to be continued", so you may want to get 4 and 5 together to complete this professor arc. I'm not going to jump right into 5 since, well, I'm a bit burned out on Dendro catch-up. Gotta read 5 before April 15th though as the prepub expires then.
Luckily, Ray and his buddies don't have super AGI builds yet, so my fears of this turning into a Dragon Ball drawn out fight novel is delayed for now. There was some minutiae to some of the battles by characters that aren't Ray though that I pretty much just read on a surface level, but if you're into power levels and such you can dig a bit deeper into what exactly is happening beyond just "he used a super powerful skill and it was countered by a super powerful dodge".
This ends on a "to be continued", so you may want to get 4 and 5 together to complete this professor arc. I'm not going to jump right into 5 since, well, I'm a bit burned out on Dendro catch-up. Gotta read 5 before April 15th though as the prepub expires then.
March 25, 2022
So I enjoyed this book, and am enjoying the series, but I have to say, I am not a fan of this whole thing with basically moving between books while things are partially undone. It very much feels like trying to take a serial work and chopping it up to fit the size limits of books. If this is something they are going to do with all of the works, it's going to get old fast.
The entirety of this book is basically one giant battle drawn out over the whole book. While this isn't bad per say, it is something you don't see all too often. There is a LOT of action, but not a lot of character development except for a couple characters, like Rook and Hugo, who get developed a fair bit with flash backs and dialogue.
In the end, this isn't a bad book. I quite enjoyed it, and will continue to read this series. There is a lot to like about things in this, and the writing is handled quite well, as is the translation. Worth picking up if you want a litRPG story that is good.
The entirety of this book is basically one giant battle drawn out over the whole book. While this isn't bad per say, it is something you don't see all too often. There is a LOT of action, but not a lot of character development except for a couple characters, like Rook and Hugo, who get developed a fair bit with flash backs and dialogue.
In the end, this isn't a bad book. I quite enjoyed it, and will continue to read this series. There is a lot to like about things in this, and the writing is handled quite well, as is the translation. Worth picking up if you want a litRPG story that is good.
July 20, 2018
I was a little disoriented going into this as I had finished Infinite Dendrogram volume 3 quite a while ago. Volume 4 follows on directly from the main story of volume 3 and has no recap so it took me a while to remember the exact situation the characters found themselves in. Thankfully the action quickly drew me in and established a good level of tension while I got up to speed.
Despite my dodgy start, I really liked this volume! The majority of the story is focused on one-on-one fights, which could be a little much for some, but I liked the characters and found the unique powers and their uses interesting and enjoyable. Rook in particular gave a good showing and I'm hoping we'll get more PoVs from him in the future! The story arc did not conclude in this volume but left off on a high point for Ray which felt satisfactory in its own way.
Despite my dodgy start, I really liked this volume! The majority of the story is focused on one-on-one fights, which could be a little much for some, but I liked the characters and found the unique powers and their uses interesting and enjoyable. Rook in particular gave a good showing and I'm hoping we'll get more PoVs from him in the future! The story arc did not conclude in this volume but left off on a high point for Ray which felt satisfactory in its own way.
December 12, 2020
Very much enjoyed seeing these folks back in action. I thought the match ups were well devised and executed with aplomb. We got some background on a few of them and that is often an interesting diversion... so long as it doesn't gobble up whole books in world building. How a bunch of lower level characters were going to take on the superiors? Well, Dendrogram has Ray doing things like that from the start so it wasn't much of a surprise that he was going to... but HOW he does is what I enjoy and found myself enjoying this volume as well.
Verdict: It really is just more ID, so if that's up your alley, check this one out.
Verdict: It really is just more ID, so if that's up your alley, check this one out.
April 13, 2020
It is a shame, this volume is supposed to be the climax of the arc yet somehow I felt it be lacking and plain. Maybe, a portion of it is because I have been desensitized by Ray's action in the past volume or that the action is just... Plain... On another side though, we get a little glimpse of Rook and Hugo's past but that is the only interesting thing happening in the novel.
If anything, I recommend you to.. Skip this volume entirely, both story-wise and character-wise there is very little going on and I don't think you are gonna miss something even if you don't read this.
If anything, I recommend you to.. Skip this volume entirely, both story-wise and character-wise there is very little going on and I don't think you are gonna miss something even if you don't read this.
January 31, 2020
Loses 1 star because there’s no tension... you just know the MCs are going to overcome all challenges.
The development of the secondary cast with loads of background info is one of the strongest points of this volume.
The development of the secondary cast with loads of background info is one of the strongest points of this volume.
January 21, 2020
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rook vs hugo
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rook vs hugo
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August 28, 2020
Has one of the most interesting fight scenes I have read in a Light Novel. I'd highly recommend this.
January 16, 2020
This entire novel is a "to be continued" of the battle from Volume 3. It does not actually end until Volume 5.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews